So far, Hindustan Zinc and some metal smelters/refiners have been suppling around 500 tonnes a year of the metal for the past one or two years.

The Silver Institute, a global body that provides facts, trends and estimates for the industry, said in the World Silver Survey 2018 released two days ago, “In addition to imported bullion, supplies also came from domestically mined and refined silver, metal refined from imported concentrates, and gold and silver doré.

"Our estimate is that these together contributed to approximately 717 tonnes.”

Gold dore imports make up almost 40 per cent of the domestic demand of around 600 tonnes.

Apart from producing the yellow metal, the dore also produces silver during the refining process.

Such supplies have also increased in 2018 and are slated to rise, going ahead.

The report also states that India has seen higher import of the metal in recent months, at 810 tonnes in May, the highest monthly import since May 2015.